Double Trouble
by Lorneytunes
Summary: Twins are not uncommon on Cybertron, but when an ordinary day for the Autobots introduces them to the Macauley sisters they're in for their wildest ride yet. The Decepticons have nothing on these two.
1. Prologue

Prologue

** Author's Note: This story blatantly ignores most of the canon plot in some places and acknowledges only the bits it needs in others. So you don't necessarily need to have watched all of Transformers: Prime to understand it, but to avoid spoilers I'd consider watching at least Season 1 before reading. **

When Esther arrived on the scene she was… let's say 'shocked' by the boy's injuries. If you want the truth, however, she was impressed. He had a pretty deep gash down most of his lower leg. He didn't look all that phased, either. Oh, he winced a little whenever he moved slightly but that was about it. She'd seen grown men bawl their eyes out over less.  
>"What got you?" she asked, with what she hoped was a comforting smile on her face.<br>The boy shrugged. "Long story."  
>"Aww, come on," she prodded him and he winced, "you're ruining the only perk of this job."<br>She leant in and examined his wound more closely, checking for any sort of debris left inside or any other details she should report to the hospital when they arrived. Satisfied it was clear, she took another look at the scene…  
>When she'd gotten there she'd bypassed her training, which called for her to check their surroundings for danger before offering aid, and run straight for the biggest injury. It turned out to be the only one, but that was beside the point. Now that she had assessed it, she could take a proper look at what she should have scanned carefully earlier.<br>They were on the side of the main road outside Jasper. There wasn't any debris around but there were what looked like burn marks on the road, and a whole heap of criss-crossed tire tracks.  
>"This wasn't a motorbike accident, was it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.<br>Thrill-seeker she may have been, but she couldn't stand people who acted like idiots on the road. She looked over his clothes. He had a bland, grey helmet on the ground next to him, but aside from that, he was just in everyday clothing. If he _had_ come off the bike then she wasn't surprised that his injury was so severe.  
><em>Amateur,<em> she muttered, mentally.  
>"You could say that…" the boy said suddenly, answering her earlier question.<br>"All right, then, but what would _you_ say happened?"  
>Puzzles. Another thing she didn't like.<br>When he didn't answer, she shoved gauze into his wound hard. He winced again, but that was the extent of the reaction she got. Trying again, Esther kept packing the wound firmly with gauze until she got to the binding stage. She pulled hard on the bandages, wrapping them as tightly as she could and ensuring she was as forceful as possible.  
>"You do know what you're doing could be considered torture, right?" the boy asked.<br>"Not unless it's successful," she told him. "What's your name, anyway? You can at least tell me that, right?"  
>He sighed. "I might as well. My mom works for the hospital, after all."<br>"Oh?" Esther raised an eyebrow.  
>"I'm Jack," he said. "Jack Darby."<br>Esther laughed maniacally. "Oh, I know your mum. You're toast."  
>Finished with his wound, she stood up and offered him a hand.<br>"You shouldn't need carried around," she said. "It'll hurt, but you can walk with just a bit of help."  
>She scanned him up and down.<br>"I don't think you're going to lose the leg." She grinned. "But your mum is going to lose her shit."  
>He took her hand. "You really are a sadist, you know that?"<br>She just swung his arm over her shoulder and helped him limp to the ambulance.  
>"What do you want us to do about your bike?" she asked.<br>"Oh, that's fine!" Jack said hurriedly. "I'll just get my mom to come get it or something."  
>"Where's she going to put it?" she reminded him. "It's not like she's just going to walk out here and ride it home. She'll have to take her car. It's not going to fit."<br>Jack laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.  
>"It's nice you're being so concerned and all, but my bike will be fine. She can take care of herself."<br>Like his attitude wasn't weird enough already… There was either someone else involved here who stood to take responsibility for Jack's injuries if she was found out, or Jack had a magic motorcycle.  
>Esther <em>really<em> hoped he had a magic motorcycle.  
>Making a snap decision she pulled out her phone, took a few steps backwards, and photographed the scene – bike included. Then she quickly shoved her phone away in case Jack tried to grab it. She could poke around on Google with it later.<br>"Whuh… what was that for?" he asked.  
>"Gotta document the scene," Esther said cheerily. "Okay, boyo, let's get going."<br>She shut the doors to the back and headed around to the front. Normally she would have had a partner to drive while she sat in the back looking after the patient, but staff was short in a small town like Jasper and seeing as the guy had reported the accident himself and sounded fine, she figured it was safe enough to just take an ambulance and go. She'd still probably get in trouble later, but she could worry about that when it happened.  
>First stop, congratulations from June Darby.<br>Second stop, finding out what the hell her son was hiding.

As they drove towards the hospital Esther happened to glance at her wing mirror. She was sure she saw a black motorcycle for a second before it blipped out of view.  
>"Strange…" she muttered to herself.<br>"Everything okay up there?" Jack asked.  
>Esther ignored him, scanning back and forth between both of her mirrors now, hoping to catch another glimpse of the bike. Looking back at the road in front of her, she made only a flick back at her wing mirrors as she turned the corner towards the hospital. There. The bike was definitely behind them.<br>"Wow, Jack, I never even realised you'd called your mum already…" she said slowly.  
>"What?" the boy looked extremely panicked. "I didn't."<br>He cursed under his breath after that but she couldn't make out what he said.  
>"Jack, is there something I need to know about that crash? Something that might get someone into trouble?"<br>"No, no, everything's fine!" The frantic way in which he waved his hands was anything but reassuring.  
>In a snap decision she slammed on the brakes, dived into the back and wrestled Jack still. It's best not to ask why she had a rope handy.<p> 


	2. Chapter 1: Dumber Than a Shoe

Chapter 1: Dumber Than a Shoe

**Author's Note: And we're back for the first full chapter! This is the kind of chapter length you can expect from now on.  
>I'd also like to give a shout out to my first reviewer HeartsGuardianSol. I hope this is soon enough for you!<br>**

You'd think I'd be used to my sister's antics by now. We've been alive _exactly_ the same amount of time, except for a few extra minutes in her favour. Despite sharing a birthday, however, we couldn't be less alike sometimes. Like, for example, when she considers bringing her shit to my doorstep a good idea.  
>Deciding that closing off to her frantic shouts from the front garden wasn't going to work this time, I stepped out the front door. Esther was standing at the wide-open back doors of an ambulance, which was parked haphazardly at best. The front half had mounted the curb and buried its front wheels in my lawn while the back half stuck slightly out of the parking space onto the road.<br>To be perfectly honest, this wasn't too much of an unusual sight. She wasn't the most amazing driver so she frequently tore up my garden with her lazy or just plain imbecilic parking. Plus, she was pretty much allowed to use the ambulance as her own personal transport so long as she responded to any calls that came in.  
>No, that wasn't what got me. It was the muffled complaints from <em>inside<em> the ambulance. Esther wasn't generally known for bringing patients home with her. Usually a selfie with their injury was enough for her.  
>"What have you DONE?" I called out to her as I ran towards the ambulance.<br>I rounded the back corner and looked inside.  
>"YOU KIDNAPPED A MINOR?"<br>"You make this seem way more dramatic than it is."  
>I stared at my sister in disbelief.<br>"Help me get him inside, would you?" she said, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I need to interrogate him."  
>He looked at me, eyes wide and pleading for help. Suddenly there was the sound of engines, more than one, very loud and headed our way. His eyes widened further but his expression was suddenly a lot more hopeful.<br>I grabbed his hips, trying to avoid what looked like an injured leg, and helped carry him inside. We dumped him down on the couch in my front room and I rounded on Esther.  
>"Why did you kidnap a child?"<br>An indignant noise from the couch.  
>"Shut up. Esther, why?"<br>"He has a magic motorbike," she hissed.  
>I stared at her for a few moments, completely in stasis. Then, almost in slow motion, my hand moved up to my head and I buried my face in it. I curled my fingers in towards my forehead as I let out an exasperated sigh.<br>"No really," she said. "He was talking about it like it was a person after he had a crash."  
>"Do me a favour and go over the words you just said to me and check them for things that make you look like an idiot."<br>Esther looked crestfallen. "What? What's wrong with it?"  
>"A lot of people give their vehicles names and genders, Esther, we call them enthusiasts." The sound of engines became louder and seemed a hell of a lot closer. "And sometimes, those enthusiasts belong to gangs."<br>The kid started rolling around on the couch making loud, muffled noises.  
>I peeked through my curtains, expecting to see a whole bunch of bikers outside my house. What I saw instead was a bike, a sportscar, a large, armoured vehicle and… a truck?<br>"Who the fuck are these guys?" I hissed.  
>I pulled the oversized band-aid off the kid's mouth. "Who are these guys?" I demanded.<br>He looked around and sighed. "Look," he said, "I can't tell you. But if you let me go, they won't do anything to you. They're just worried about me."  
>I looked at my sister. "Understandable…"<br>Outside I heard several clicks and whirring noises before a deep voice commanded, "No, Arcee!"  
>"R.C.? What kind of nickname is that?" I looked out the window and leapt backwards. "Jesus Christ!"<br>The bike was gone. In its place was a - I never thought I'd get to say these words - giant robot.  
>"She's friendly!" the kid shouted. "Don't worry, she's friendly."<br>"_He has a magic bike?_" I said, looking at my sister. "Bit of an understatement there."  
>She grinned nervously and shrugged.<br>"Well now what do we do? Do you really trust this kid when he says they won't hurt us?"  
>Heavy footsteps approached us and I was starting to get really worried about the safety of my roof and the likelihood of its continued attachment to the rest of my house.<br>Esther shrugged again. "His mum's pretty nice."  
>"Oh great, so you not only kidnapped a kid, you kidnapped a kid you <em>know<em>?"  
>"I'm not a kid, and I don't know her. She works with my mom at the hospital," the kid said.<br>"We could get arrested over this," I said, glaring at my sister.  
>The kid struggled into an upright position, wincing a few times, and then looked at me seriously.<br>"I already told you," he said, "if you let me go that'll be the end of it. Believe me, you're not going to get arrested."  
>"Your giant robot friend have a problem with the police?" I asked, starting to put two and two together.<br>The shaking stopped.  
>I ran to the door and threw it open. "Don't break my house!" I screamed hysterically at the robot.<br>"Then give me back my partner," it said in a female voice.  
>"Ew," I said.<br>"I ship it," said Esther.  
>"Shut up," I said.<br>"Not like that," said the robot, looking taken aback.  
>She glanced back at the vehicles parked haphazardly in my street. She seemed to be considering what to say.<br>"Jack is very important to us," she eventually decided on. "Just give him back and we won't hurt you."  
>I looked at my sister, and then the kid, and then the robot, and then my sister again.<br>"I think you've got your proof about the kid's motorcycle. Just untie him and let him go."  
>She frowned but complied.<br>"Put me in this situation again, though," I warned, "and the robot can have you."  
>"Believe me," said the robot, "this won't be happening again."<br>I looked over at the couch where Jack was now fully untied. Esther was standing with her arms folded, a childishly stubborn look on her face. I sighed and went to help him limp to the door.  
>"Does he need to go to the hospital?" I asked her.<br>She ignored me.  
>"<em>Does he need to go to the hospital?"<em> I said again, with a much more lethal edge to it this time.  
>"Yes," she finally admitted. "He needs stitches."<br>I looked back at the robot. "Can your friends get him to the hospital?"  
>She looked back at them. "Oh, we can get him there. We just might have trouble getting him inside."<br>"Why? Are they wanted criminals or something?"  
>She looked at me and then at the vehicles. "They're…"<br>The truck revved suddenly, as if in warning.  
>Her mouth closed again.<br>I let out a final, exasperated sigh and hefted Jack out the front door towards the lawn.  
>"Whatever," I said. "There's a kid here who's hurt. Whatever freaky shit is going on with you guys, getting him fixed up is my first priority."<br>I rounded on my sister who was now in the doorway behind us.  
>"It should have been <em>yours<em>," I said, "but you were too busy playing conspiracy theories."  
>"Which turned out to be true!" she yelled after us.<br>Initially, I made for my own car - a blue Mazda 2 with worn paint in some places and rust spots in others. Then I remembered my driveway was blocked.  
>"Can you at least give me a lift, then?" I asked.<br>Both passenger-side doors to the armoured car swung open. I looked back at the robot. She nodded.  
>The truck gave another, quieter rev, still not sounding like its driver was happy with the idea.<br>I helped Jack limp across the now torn up lawn to the armoured car and strapped him into the back. Then I headed for the front and hopped into the passenger seat. It wasn't until I fastened my seatbelt that I realised there was no driver, but by then the car had already taken off.

It was a few blocks before I'd regained enough composure to say, "You're a robot too, then."  
>"Yup," said a rumbling voice from, I assumed, the car's stereo.<br>I sank into my seat. "Really not what I had planned for my evening."  
>Jack laughed from the back. "Tell me about it."<br>I looked over my shoulder at him.  
>"I'm really sorry…" I said.<br>He sighed and shrugged. "A day in the life, I guess."  
>I looked back out the front window. We rode in silence for a few more blocks before my curiosity got the better of me.<br>"So, how _did_ you get hurt? Motorbike get the hiccups?"  
>Jack laughed. "If only…" His head snapped towards the screen in the centre of the stereo system. "But, uh… I'm not sure if I can tell you any more than you already know."<br>"Yeah, leave that to Optimus," the car said.  
>"Optimus?"<br>"The truck," said Jack.  
>"How many freaking disguised robots are there in Jasper?"<br>I pressed my nose to the glass, eyeing up every car I saw.  
>"Don't worry," rumbled the car, "we'll introduce you to the whole team later."<br>"You trust me that much already?" I asked, returning my focus to the car's interior.  
>"I know a good spark when I see one. Not so sure about that other girl, though…"<br>The car's interior lights dimmed and I wasn't sure if it was in anger or just mild annoyance. Either way, I was pretty sure it was the robot equivalent of narrowing his eyebrows.  
>"Uh, Spark?" I asked.<br>"He means heart," Jack offered. "That's the Autobot equivalent."  
>"Autobots, huh? Looks like I have a lot of new vocab to learn. Catchy name, though."<br>I looked back at the car's screen. "But by the way, that other girl? She's my twin sister."

It didn't take much longer before we reached the hospital and I had to help Jack limp through the front doors into emergency. I couldn't help noticing Esther's ambulance parked out front.  
>"There he is!" called a familiar voice from the nurse's desk. "Told you the silly goose would turn up."<br>"Jack!"  
>A woman who could only be his mother ran towards us.<br>"What were you thinking, leaving the ambulance like that?"  
>"What?" Jack craned to see around his mother's smothering shoulders.<br>I followed his gaze to the desk where Esther was giving him an evil smile.  
>"Uh, well…" he said, "I guess she just freaked me out a bit."<br>His mum groaned. "Well, at least you're safe now. Let's get stitches in your leg."  
>She stood up and looked at me. "Thank you so much for helping my son."<br>Then she shook my hand and introduced herself. "I'm June Darby. You must be Esther's sister."  
>"Heather, yes I am," I said, shaking back before letting her go.<p>

I got to hang around while Jack was getting fixed up, giving the excuse that I wanted to make sure he was okay. Esther wasn't so lucky and got another call right after I arrived. His mum seemed to buy the story Esther had fed him about him running out of her ambulance when she stopped at some traffic lights, and mine that I'd found him sat at the side of the road not far from there.  
>In the private, little examination room she finished his stitches and then covered up his wound with an adhesive patch that must have looked painfully familiar to him. I stifled a giggle.<br>"There's just one thing, though," Jack's mum said once she was done.  
>My smile froze on my face. <em>What one thing?<em>  
>"Didn't I see Bulkhead parked just outside after you came in?"<br>"Mom!" Jack hissed.  
>Before she could apologise, I let out my own exclamation. "She <em>knows<em>?!"  
>"I might not always approve of the trouble they get my son into…" June glared at Jack. "But I do know about the… <em>unusual<em> company he keeps."  
>She smiled at me. "I take it you're the most recent addition."<br>"You have no idea how recent."  
>"At least they're finding people <em>above<em> the legal age now."  
>June handed her son a pair of crutches.<br>"You'll be staying off that bike until your leg heals, young man. You'll just have to get a ride with Miko or Raf from now on."  
>Jack looked frustrated, but when he looked down at the crutches and flexed the knee of his injured leg a little, he seemed to accept his fate.<br>June turned to me now. "Could you see him home for me? I've got a shift to finish."  
>When I nodded, she left the room.<br>I held the door for Jack as he limped through on his new crutches.  
>"You've got a lot of explaining to do when we get there, kiddo."<p>

Once outside, I was about to help Jack into Bulkhead's back seat again when I was told to put him in the front.  
>"Where am I going to sit?" I asked.<br>"Your flight's been upgraded," came a female voice from Jack's bike.  
>I looked around to see someone riding it. Studying it for more than a few minutes, however, revealed the figure for what it was. The hologram flickered every so often.<br>"Uh…" I said, confused.  
>The hologram twitched its head towards another vehicle out on the street that I hadn't noticed until now. The big rig from in front of my house. Although, he didn't seem to travel with a trailer, I noticed.<br>I approached warily, although I was unsure why; I'd hopped into Bulkhead like it was a complete non-issue. Maybe it was the size of him. (I was sure this one was a guy.) The massive truck was very imposing. I mean, most of us who can drive almost shit themselves every time we have to pass a truck on the freeway, but this guy was something else entirely.  
>As I got closer, I heard the sound of a door opening for me, but it wasn't on the passenger side like my trip to the hospital. I didn't have a feeling I'd need to drive (which was good, because there was no way my license - or my previous experience – covered driving a truck) but it still felt like a pretty big deal going around to the driver's side.<br>I strapped myself in once the door was closed, even though I was pretty sure I saw the seatbelt give a suspicious twitch just before I grabbed it. These guys were far better equipped for kidnapping than my hot-headed sister, it seemed.  
>The deep voice I'd heard coming from outside my house earlier chose that moment to say, "Autobots, roll out."<br>I froze in shock just as we all took off at the fastest legal speed down the main road. Great, now I'd probably have whiplash.  
>The big guy seemed to realise he'd put me on edge.<br>"My apologies," he said, actually sounding a little embarrassed. "I am not accustomed to carrying passengers."  
>"And you are…?" I said, slowly regaining my ability to perform any sort of basic function.<br>"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."  
><em>My flight got upgraded and a half, <em>I thought to myself.  
>"Nice to meet you, Optimus," I said, "I'm Heather."<br>I was all too aware I sounded like something out of a cartoon, but that was the best I could come up with. How often do you have to introduce yourself to the leader of a bunch of robotic aliens while he's transformed into a truck and giving you a lift? Me, I've only done it once. I'd enjoy a do-over, though.  
>There was silence for a little while and I wondered if he was figuring out what to say. I decided to help him.<br>"So, the others said you'd be the best one to explain the situation to me," I attempted.  
>"We are robotic life forms from the planet Cybertron. Our purpose here on Earth is to protect your planet from our enemies, the Decepticons," Optimus told me. "The war between our two sides destroyed our own planet, we cannot allow it to destroy yours."<br>"That's good. I can imagine a lot of people would be upset if the planet was destroyed because of a war that isn't even ours."  
>"Indeed," agreed Optimus, not seeming to catch the joke. Or ignoring it. Either way. "However, our presence on this planet has remained a secret until now, and must continue to do so."<br>I nodded, although I wasn't sure if he could tell.  
>"You can trust me," I added, just in case.<br>"I believe we are right to place our trust in you, Heather," the big bot confirmed. "You showed great kindness tonight when you assisted Jack."  
>There was something hanging on the end of his sentence, though; a change in tone that told me exactly where this was going.<br>"You're just worried about my sister," I said, finishing the thought for him.  
>"Kidnapping an innocent to interrogate them is not an action that typically engenders trust."<br>I scratched my head awkwardly. "Well, you're right there," I said. "To be honest, though, Esther's just a bit impulsive. She might takes things to extremes sometimes but… I find it hard to believe you've never come across someone else who acts before they think."  
>Optimus seemed to think this over and I let him. I didn't want to find out what might happen if they decided they couldn't trust Esther.<br>"You are right," he said eventually, "your assessment reminds me of another youth in our care - Miko."  
>"Is she underage, too?" I asked sceptically.<br>"Regrettably, yes," he admitted. "Her discovery of our secret, along with Jack and another human child, Rafael, was unintended… but they remain under our protection."  
>I considered everything he'd said. "So, let me see if I've got everything… You're alien robots from another planet, you're here to fight your evil enemies, and we've got to keep it all a secret."<br>"Those are the basics, yes," Optimus confirmed. "The details will come with time. For now, we have arrived."  
>I looked outside and didn't recognise the house we were at. It had to be Jack's, then.<br>I climbed out of the truck as I said, "Thank you, Optimus."  
>Then I headed over to see if Jack was all right and helped him inside.<br>Once I checked he had everything he needed and made sure he agreed to lock the doors and stay inside for the rest of the night, I headed outside again. The Autobots had all headed off somewhere, but I spotted the yellow Camaro parked on the street. It flashed its lights in greeting.  
>I hopped into the passenger side.<br>"So, who are you, then?" I asked.  
>There was a bunch of beeps in response.<br>"Uh, what?"  
>More beeping. I sat silently for a moment, thinking about it. The bot made a disappointed noise.<br>"I was just trying to work out what you said, give me a minute."  
>I set my programmer's mind to work.<br>The bot beeped again.  
>"Yes, I can understand you! Now shut up and let me- Oh…"<br>After we finished laughing I tried again. "So, your name was?"  
>An excited sentence full of beeps, bloops and whirring noises.<br>"Nice to meet you, too, Bumblebee."


	3. Chapter 2: Humans Multiply

Chapter 2: Humans Multiply

It was very late, but away from the loud noises that had been following me around all evening I slipped easily into sleep. I dreamed of giant robots chasing me, falling off cliffs, my sister setting things I liked on fire… generally nightmarish stuff. A slamming door jerked me awake. I swung upwards from the couch into a sitting position and stared around me, ready to dodge any giant, robotic feet I might encounter.  
>"I can't believe you went off with the robots without me!" Esther shouted at me from the doorway.<br>I rubbed my bleary eyes. "_What?_"  
>"I said…" She moved closer before bending down next to my ear. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT OFF WITH THE ROBOTS WITHOUT ME!"<br>Ears ringing, I collapsed backwards into the couch again.  
>Seemingly having let out all her hurt feelings, she plopped down onto my stomach and asked me one hundred questions at once.<br>"So what were they like? What were their names? Do they have any cool powers? Where are they from? Why are they here? Do we get to join them now? Are they going to kill us to keep us quiet?"  
>I tried to remember all the questions she'd asked so far.<br>"The green armoured car is called Bulkhead and he's pretty friendly but he didn't say much. Their leader is called Optimus Prime and he's got that scary, commanding leader voice that makes you never want to disappoint him.  
>He gave me a lift to Jack's house while he told me they're alien robots called Autobots, they're from Cybertron and they're protecting us from a war that's spilled onto our planet. He also told me Jack isn't the only human who hangs around with them. There's two other kids – Raf and Miko.<br>Then I got a lift from a bot called Bumblebee who speaks in bleeps and bloops but I sort of managed to figure out what he was saying. He said he'd come by and pick me up tomorrow afternoon after he picks up Raf from school. Then they'll explain more.  
>Optimus seems to have decided to trust you for now…"<br>Esther seemed satisfied. Rather than get off, however, she decided to use me as a pillow.  
>"Esther… get off."<br>"But I love you."  
>"Get off and let me sleep. If you want to stay here then go use my bed."<br>There was a tense moment where I wondered if I was going to have to smack her one, but then she finally got off and wandered through to my bedroom.  
>"Good night!" she called in an eerie, singsong voice.<br>I closed my eyes and got back to my nightmares.

When I woke up the next day it was already 11am. Esther was making bacon (Although I don't know where she got it from because I don't usually eat bacon.) and brought me back to the world of the living by offering me some. Deciding I wasn't going to turn down a free breakfast, I nodded sleepily and trudged over to the table.  
>"How come you're not at work?" I asked after I'd downed a few gulps of orange juice to clear my throat.<br>"I'm on evening again," she told me before cracking a few eggs into the pan.  
>I wrinkled my nose, hoping my bacon wasn't in there with them. Once they were crackling away, however, she left them to cook while she brought me over a plate. I ate quietly, wondering how I was going to survive the next few hours until Bumblebee came by to pick me up. <em>Us<em> up, I supposed. There was no way Esther would let me go alone. I didn't want to go alone, either, I just wasn't sure how happy Bumblebee would be about giving her a lift.

In the end, I spent those hours getting myself ready, looking nice. I took a long shower, bothered to blow-dry my hair for once instead of letting it air dry, spent forever picking out the best 'Meeting the Autobots' outfit, put on make-up, took off the make-up and nursed a throbbing eyeball, caved in and asked Esther for help with my make-up, and then lost half my lipstick eating an apple for an afternoon snack. I'd just finished re-applying it when the doorbell rang.  
>"How do I look?" I asked my sister.<br>"You look fine," she told me dismissively, "but how did the robot ring the doorbell?"  
>I opened the door to find a kid about half my height standing there. He had brown hair, glasses, and a nervous expression on his face.<br>"Raf?" I asked.  
>He seemed to relax. Just a little…<br>"Hi…"  
>"Come on, Esther, let's go!"<br>I stepped outside and placed an easy hand on Raf's shoulder as I guided him back towards Bumblebee. He kept glancing back behind us until Esther strode out of the house in knee-high black Converses, short shorts, a black, sleeveless shirt and a pair of sunglasses.  
>She gave him her best pout. I'm sure she was winking under the sunnies, too, but I was also pretty sure she hadn't remembered nobody could see.<br>Bumblebee showed his opinion of the extra passenger with a few unhappy beeps and a slammed door when Esther got close.  
>"<em>Bumblebee<em>…" I warned him.  
>He caved, saying something about keeping an eye on her (and adjusting his rear-view mirror to prove it), before unlocking the door to let her in. He didn't extend the courtesy of opening it for her, but she took it in stride – opening the door and sliding into the leather seats in one smooth motion. All this despite the fact that Bumblebee was a two-door car, so she had to squeeze in behind Raf's seat to end up next to me.<br>I rolled my eyes and reminded her to put on a seatbelt.  
>"In a car that drives itself? You're no fun…"<br>"Remember that this car has enemies. Look what happened to Jack."  
>Bumblebee let out a series of beeps.<br>"What?" said Esther.  
>"He said that was a one-off incident and that it's way safer in here than on a bike," I told her.<br>Raf looked at me from the passenger seat.  
>"It is so weird having someone else around who can understand Bee like I can."<br>"Can't the other bots understand him?" I asked.  
>"Well, yeah, but whenever another human's around I usually have to translate."<br>"I guess you can have a break whenever I'm around, then," I smiled.  
>He smiled back. I was happy that he seemed to be warming up to me. I was going to need all the friendship points I could get from these guys if I had any hope of getting them to cool off over Esther's attempted kidnapping. Or… successful kidnapping, I guess.<p>

Bumblebee drove us to the edge of town. When we reached a T intersection, however, he kept going. My whole body froze as we headed straight for a rock wall.  
>"Uh… you might want to stop," Esther said.<br>Raf laughed. "Just wait…"  
>A section of the rock face suddenly slid down into the ground. For a moment we could see a pair of metal doors behind it as we slipped through the widening gap. Then we headed down a driveway which, surprisingly, had lane markings on it. After only a minute, we were pulling into a central chamber.<br>A series of large platforms lay before us, with staircases leading up to them; an even larger set of computers created a semi-circle in front. A white Autobot stood at the computers, pressing buttons and generally giving the impression of being busy. On one of the upper areas I could see Jack sitting on a couch with what looked to be a girl about the same age. His crutches sat leaning against the railing. The two kids seemed to be… watching TV together.  
>Bumblebee opened his doors and Raf, Esther and I hopped out. Then he transformed.<br>I might have seen Jack's motorcycle in her robot mode when she'd been threatening the safety of my roof the previous night, but I'd never seen the stages in between. With a series of whirring noises and rearranging parts, Bumblebee rose to full robotic height. It was like he'd just stood up from a crouching position.  
>I looked around the rest of the room. In total, there were three Autobots present. Bumblebee, who'd bought us here, the white robot standing at the control panel, and a hefty, green robot leaning over the railing to watch TV with Jack and, I assumed, Miko. I guessed that last one was my ride from the night before - Bulkhead.<br>Esther was looking around, too. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the white robot.  
>"Do you turn into an ambulance?" she asked.<br>He looked down. "_More of them?_" he said, sounding exasperated.  
>Bulkhead let out a rumbling laugh that sounded like a landslide. "Haven't you heard, Ratchet? Humans multiply."<br>The kids all laughed, too, and I took that to mean this was some sort of in joke.  
>I smiled at him nervously and waved.<br>Esther just stood there, arms folded, waiting for her question to be answered.  
>"Well?"<br>Ratchet looked flustered for a second before he shook his head, muttered, "Yes, I do," and went back to work.  
>I shrugged, assuming this was the best we were going to get out of him.<br>A beeping not unlike a ringtone sounded and a picture of a robot's face flashed up on one of the large, green screens above the workstation.  
>"Ratchet, we are ready to return. Prepare the ground bridge."<br>Optimus's voice filtered through from somewhere as a soundwave wobbled about next to the picture.  
>Before I could analyse the situation any further, a swirling, green portal opened to my right. I looked around and saw an enormous robot walking through. At his side was the female bot from the night before. She only came up to his waist.<br>The closer the two robots got the further I tilted my head back as I watched Optimus. I was probably going to get a cramp soon. Luckily for me, and also slightly unluckily as it sent my heart into overdrive, he bent down on one knee when he got close enough and lowered his face until it was in front of mine.  
>"Heather…" he said in that venerable, yet commanding voice, "it is nice to meet you face to face this time."<br>A series of garbled noises came from my throat instead of speech.  
>Optimus looked concerned. He turned to the rest of the room and said, "Has something happened to her vocal processors?"<br>I heard laughter from the rest of the Autobots. Obviously they were far more aware of the effect of their leader's presence on people than he was.  
>That's when Esther rocked up beside me. "I'm Esther, who are you? What do you turn into? Is this all the robots there are? Why are you hiding in a big rock? What was that portal? Can humans go through it? Where does it lead to?"<br>Unsurprisingly, Optimus took this opportunity to back off a little. Actually, a lot. Before I knew it he was standing up and heading off down a side corridor.  
>"I'm sure Ratchet will be happy to answer your questions, Esther."<br>I glared at my sister as the other Autobots laughed again. "Great, you even scare off giant robots."  
>I cast a casual glance at Optimus Prime's retreating back in case he'd heard and was offended, but he didn't seem to react.<p>

After Optimus left, Esther continually pestered Ratchet with her questions. First the same ones she'd asked Optimus, but then she became more interested in what he was doing. He tried to fob her off with off-handed comments about this or that, but I talk to her plenty about my work with computers. She's also pretty intelligent, despite her hare-brained schemes, so she was able to latch on to parts of what he'd said and extrapolate from there. And when in doubt? She'd call me in.  
>Ratchet seemed pleasantly surprised the first time she did that. So did Raf. After our arrival he'd clambered up on top of one of the consoles and started working alongside Ratchet on his laptop. Eventually the tech talk caught my interest too much and I excused myself from the couch next to Jack and Miko and headed down to the computers. I was surprised to learn that they were running on human technology, although it made more sense when they pointed out their hideout was converted from an old military base. Still, it made me laugh to think of Autobots trying to use Windows 7.<br>I joined Raf on top of the console, although being much bigger than him and too inflexible to find sitting cross-legged comfortable, I had to sit with my legs hanging off the side, lest I block some of Ratchet's workspace.  
>"So, what are <em>you<em> up to?" I asked Raf, attempting to draw the attention away from his Autobot counterpart for a bit.  
>"Replacing pictures of the Autobots that people have posted online with funny gifs," he told me, pointing to his screen as he deleted a picture of Bumblebee's car form and replaced it with a dancing monkey.<br>Esther was suddenly next to us with her phone out.  
>"Ooh, let me help!" she cried out.<br>"You know how to hack, too?" Raf asked, baffled.  
>"No, but I have a whole heap of gifs you can use. Here, put up this one of Castiel."<br>Good thing Raf's laptop was equipped with Bluetooth. Although I was a little annoyed that Esther had managed to immediately hijack my diversion. I stood up on the top of the console, stepped politely over Raf and focused back on what Ratchet was doing instead.  
>"Don't tell me your job involves pictures of cats, too," I said, smiling.<br>"Thankfully not," Ratchet said. "I'm performing a routine scan for unusual energy signatures."  
>"Which would indicate?"<br>"Well, anything," he told me. "A new Autobot or Decepticon arriving on Earth, an energon deposit, a hidden weapon being uncovered… I need to find something before I can investigate further and narrow down the possibilities. Then we send out a team to investigate once we have an idea of what they might find."  
>"Makes sense," I said, satisfied.<br>Ratchet looked surprised that I left it at that. I caught a secret smile too, though.

We kept on like that for a few more hours. If Ratchet started doing anything different, I asked him about it, and he seemed happy to explain it to me. Especially seeing as he didn't need to dumb it down. I caught him testing me a couple of times, so I gathered he was used to not being understood. I could relate.

Just as the various other Bots were getting ready to take their charges home, a signal flashed up on Ratchet's screen. A beeping noise followed it.  
>"It looks like an artefact," Ratchet announced.<br>Optimus reappeared so fast I wondered if he had teleportation abilities I didn't know about.  
>"Where is the signal located?" he asked.<br>"It looks like…"  
>The screen flickered as a wireframe of the Earth enlarged, spun, and zoomed to where the signal was coming from. I recognised the little island it was showing us.<br>"…Loch Ness," Ratchet finished.  
>"Arcee, Bulkhead, come with me," Optimus commanded. "Bumblebee, take the children home."<br>A portal opened in the same place as before. The group transformed at the same time and drove inside it at speed. They were almost out of view as Miko suddenly took off at a run. I hadn't even noticed her move down to the ground level.  
>Figuring she should definitely not be going along for the trip if big, bad robots might be involved, I ran after her, planning to tackle her as soon as I got close enough.<br>"Miko!" I shouted, hoping to slow her down, or at least let Optimus and the others know they were being followed.  
>"Hey, I wanna come, too!" shouted Esther and suddenly she was ploughing into the back of me.<br>I tumbled forward, hitting Miko in the back and sending the three of us rolling down the tunnel and out the other side.

We landed on solid ground, hard. Behind me I heard the sound of Esther losing her bacon sandwich. Miko, seemingly well-practiced at ground bridge travel, was fine. She was already running off. I was slower off the mark, feeling not quite as sick as Esther, but still bad enough that my legs wobbled and my stomach needed a minute to settle.  
>I got to my feet just in time to hear Bulkhead say, "It's a trap."<p> 


	4. Chapter 3: Sleight of Hand

Chapter 3: Sleight of Hand

Say what you will about the luscious, soft grass and muddy ground in Scotland, it still hurts when you slam into it. Despite being able to stand now, my butt was suffering from a ridiculous ache. I stumbled up next to Miko who was looking a little horrified at the scene surrounding us. Served her right for running off, I thought to myself.  
>Esther, on the other hand, was loving it, staring around at all the giant robots and looking like she was ready to squee. Just as she seemed about ready to run off and inspect what I assumed was a Decepticon, I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to us. In a tight huddle we watched as the circle of enemies converged on the Autobots.<br>"Optimus! Good to see you again…"  
>I looked up to see the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen, just as Optimus replied, "Megatron."<br>The name fit perfectly. Everything about him was mega. He looked mega-evil, he was mega-HUGE, and the overall effect was that he looked mega-scary. He was taller than Optimus. He was taller than the giant robot who had reduced me to a blubbering mess when I tried to speak to him.  
>"Whoa, get a load of bucket head…" Esther breathed beside me.<br>I'd forgotten she was there. Remembering I had back-up brought me back to reality a little. I grabbed her hand. She looked at me like I was a moron. But, good sister that she was, she squeezed back.  
>"What do you want, Megatron?" Optimus demanded, battle stance at the ready.<br>"Don't worry, Optimus." Megatron's voice was dismissive. "You don't need to do a thing. Just sit back and relax as my Decepticons take back my treasures from you."  
>None of the robots in the circle moved. Our guys seemed as confused as I was.<br>"We wouldn't be stupid enough to bring them with us," Bulkhead scoffed.  
>"No," agreed Megatron. "And yet you left them unguarded in your base."<br>"Hah!" Miko shouted, revealing our location to the whole group. "You don't even know where our base _is_!"  
>I shivered as Megatron turned his gaze to us with an evil smirk plastered on his metal face.<br>"Oh, but I do, fleshling."  
>I was suddenly happy that Esther and I were out of the base. My heart, however, did go out to Ratchet who would be alone. Then my mind started to tick over – he wouldn't be alone, because Bee probably wouldn't have left with Jack and Raf once they realised Miko was gone. Ratchet having back-up made me slightly happier, but the thought of Jack and Raf in the path of giant robots on a mission from Metal Satan over there… I shivered again.<br>While all of this had been going through my head, in the real world Optimus and the others had noticed we were here.  
>"What are you doing here?" Arcee hissed at us.<br>"Trying to stop _her_!" I hissed back, pointing at Miko.  
>"Oh so <em>that's<em> what you were doing," said Esther. "I thought you were going without me."  
>"How stupid do you think I am!" I said, now hissing at her instead. "I know better than to sneak along on a dangerous mission involving giant robots."<br>"Please," Miko chimed in at full volume. "I do it all the time."  
>Optimus and Megatron were looking at us like we were a bunch of morons. They were pretty close to the mark.<br>"New pets, Optimus?" the bigger bot asked.  
><em>Oh dear…<em>  
>As if on cue, Esther and Miko started shouting obscenities at the same time. Or, at least, Esther did. Miko kept throwing out words like 'scrap' and 'frag' and 'glitch'. Maybe that was how the robots swore.<br>The Autobots took the moment of distraction as an opportunity to strike. Arcee stood in front of us while Optimus and Bulkhead swung out at the circle of Decepticons. They went flying, and Arcee had to protect us from a fair few bits of desiccated robot. She backed us over to a large rock.  
>"<em>Stay here<em>," she said pointedly.  
>The second she was gone Miko looked like she was going to run back towards the fight, but this time I was faster. I grabbed her and wrestled her back towards my sister. Thankfully, Esther seemed to be feeling sensible at the moment because she pinned Miko's arms behind her back and held her in place. I kept my eye on the fight from where we stood.<br>All the other Decepticons had been defeated. Now, only Optimus Prime and Megatron still stood - giant sword-arms locked together. Having finished off their own quarries, however, Bulkhead and Arcee surrounded Megatron and he accepted defeat. He stood back, but instead of surrendering he took off towards a ground bridge portal that appeared suddenly. Then he was gone.  
>"Damn," I cursed as Esther let Miko free.<br>Rotating her shoulders Miko gave a verbal shrug, "Meh, he always gets away."  
>We walked slowly back to the Autobots.<br>"Ratchet," Optimus was saying. "Can you open a ground bridge?"  
>There was only a short delay before a swirling portal of our own opened up. The Autobots transformed and Bulkhead yelled, "Get in."<br>We didn't need telling twice. Our base was still in trouble.

The group rocketed through the portal at full speed. When we came out the other side Bulkhead ejected us, immediately transforming. I was ready for the gut-churning feeling, but hitting the ground felt worse this time around. I groaned as I rose to my feet. Hopefully the next time I went through a ground bridge I could just walk through or something.  
>I looked around the room, ready to dodge any duelling robots that might head my way, but there were none. What there <em>was<em>, was a pile of sparking, purple robot parts in the middle of the room. Sitting on top of them was…  
>"Who's <em>that<em>?" Esther asked.  
>"Wheeljack!" Miko cried out. She grinned up at him as she ran forward.<br>Obviously, he was a friend. As if the pile of dead Decepticons hadn't been a clue.  
>"You took out all those cons by yourself?" Arcee asked the newcomer, looking sceptical.<br>"Don't sound so surprised, Arcee," he told her. "Wreckers never call for backup."  
>"They call for cleanup!" answered Bulkhead.<br>_Wreckers?_  
>Wheeljack jumped off the pile of bodies before being crushed in a metallic, green hug.<br>"Where ya been, Jackie?" his friend asked.  
>"Around and about," Wheeljack answered.<br>Now it was our turn. Jack and Raf ran over to the small collection of humans.  
>"Miko, I can't believe you just ran off like that!" Jack said.<br>"Really, you can't?" asked Raf.  
>I sighed. I'd already kind of guessed, but it looked like I'd be dealing with a lot of escaping Miko.<br>"Are you okay?" asked Jack.  
>When Miko didn't reply I snapped out of my thoughts and realised he was talking to me.<br>"Oh, me? I'm fine. Maybe a skinned knee or two but I'll live."  
>Esther looked at me. "Should I look at them, or…?"<br>I'd been speaking figuratively, but decided to mess with her a bit.  
>"After causing them in the first place? You'd better."<br>Esther took the bait.  
>"Hey, if anything, it was <em>her<em> fault," she said, gesturing at Miko. "If she hadn't run off you wouldn't have had to chase her."  
>"You didn't have to follow me!" Miko yelled back.<br>I laughed and left them to it.

Wandering off, I went over to Ratchet's work station and plopped down on the edge again. Not long after I did, an alarm went off.  
>"It's Fowler," Ratchet called out without looking up.<br>I wondered if he'd left his computer at all during the fight. Then I wondered who 'Fowler' was.  
>Some doors in a tube I now realised was a lift opened and a middle-aged black man in a kind of boring-looking suit said, "Who the hell are these two?"<br>Arcee looked at me and Esther before saying, "Scrap."  
>"<em>More<em> civilians, Prime?" said the man, looking straight to Optimus with a disapproving look on his face.  
>I was surprised at how easily he managed to scold a giant robot.<br>"We're not civilians," Esther shouted from the ground. "I'm a paramedic!"  
>"Oh," said the man, "something that might actually be useful."<br>I hopped down from the console and met my sister halfway to the stairs. The guy made his way down to ground level.  
>"Agent William Fowler," he said, shaking first Esther's hand then mine.<br>Then he ran his other hand up and down the back of his neck. "Look, at this point, I have no choice but to officially put you both on the department's records. That is, if you plan on sticking around."  
>"Well," I said, "from the sound of what Optimus told me the Decepticons might attack us now they've seen us with the Autobots. So I don't think we have a choice if we want to be safe."<br>I couldn't resist looking at Esther and Miko as I said that. I still fully intended to blame my predicament on them.  
>"Then you're coming with me."<br>"That doesn't sound sinister at all," Esther said, folding her arms and refusing to budge; even when I grabbed her by the elbow and started to tug her towards the stairs.  
>"It's just to fill out some paperwork. Then you can come back and play with the giant robots."<br>Fowler's sarcastic tone told me everything I needed to know about his job.  
>Sighing, I followed him up the stairs, knowing my sister would come along in her own due time. She was about to realise we were off to secret agent headquarters in 3… 2… 1…<br>"WAIT FOR ME!"

The place I'd so naively dubbed 'secret agent headquarters' turned out to be a dingy office at a nearby military base. Forgive me for thinking I was finally going to get out of Nevada after making the mistake of immigrating here.  
>"This is not the Pentagon," Esther said dismally, slumped over both the desk and her paperwork.<br>I yanked the forms out from under her. Looking them over to see what still needed filled out, I shook my head. She'd circled 'Miss' and that was it.  
>After half an hour I'd finished both our paperwork and Agent Fowler was returning with the coffees he'd promised us when we arrived. I stood.<br>"No need, Agent," I said. "We're done."  
>He put down the coffee. "Not quite. You still need a debriefing from my superiors."<br>"To be fair, Agent Fowler, we can get all the debriefing we need from the Autobots. What could your 'superiors' have to say to us that they can't?"  
>I'm mean when I'm tired.<br>"We're on paper, we're official, we're going home."  
>I charged out of the room and Esther followed, giving Fowler her best snooty look. It wasn't until we started approaching the doors that I realised we had no way of getting home without him. Too proud to turn around now, I kept going until I reached fresh air.<p>

A yellow Camaro was parked on the dirt road outside the base. I hopped easily into the back seat. After only a day it was strange the amount of trust I'd awarded the Bots.  
>"I'm not even going to ask how you're magically here when I needed you, Bee," I said, relaxing into the seat and shutting my eyes.<br>He pulled off suddenly and I heard Esther swear from outside.  
>"Not funny, Bee," I told him, drifting off. "You need to go back for her."<br>I didn't get to see my command through to its completion, though; my bad night's sleep had finally caught up to me. I fell asleep – slumped sideways across the entire back seat.

I've heard all the stories about parents getting their kids to sleep by taking them for a drive, but I never really expected that to work on adults. Apparently it not only works on people my age, but doesn't require a real car either; a robot disguised as one will do just as well. It worked so well on me that I wasn't even awake for the part where Bee transformed and carried me limply through the base. Nope. One minute I was drifting off in the back of the Camaro and the next I was waking up in bed.  
>I looked around, startled. Where was I? This wasn't my bed. I had a thick, plush, queen-sized mattress for a start, not this thin, stiff, single one. I was surrounded by metal. <em>The base.<em> I hadn't realised the base even had a bunk room, but it wasn't like I'd been there long enough today for a tour. That is, if it was even still today. Hey, maybe it was an infirmary.  
>I felt slightly groggy, but not the 'not enough sleep' kind of groggy. No, this was the 'slept too long' kind of groggy. I was quickly fighting my way out of it, though.<br>The bed was a bit higher than I would have expected, but I swung my legs over the edge and jumped straight to the floor. On landing, I felt a pain shoot up my ankle. _Goddammit_. I don't know why I'd decided to try and be cool today. Not with my co-ordination.  
>Once I'd massaged my foot for a while I tried walking. Concentrating on placing my feet perfectly I took a few steps to see if the pain was gone. Then, confident I was able to walk again, I left the room and headed down several random corridors in an attempt to find that main control room.<p>

The corridors were massive; bigger than I remembered them being. There were also a lot more lights in the wall and down at floor level. Still, that was a good thing. It was nice to be able to see. I knew the Autobots must be used to looking out underfoot with the kids around, but I didn't want to take any chances – being able to see them in time to dodge was good.  
>I rounded a corner and almost ended up stepped on anyway. But not by any of the robots I was expecting. A giant, purple Decepticon stood before me, looking just as shocked as I was.<br>"Hey, you shouldn't be here!" he said before his arm lunged towards me.  
><em>You're damn right I shouldn't be!<em> I turned and started running in the opposite direction. He was too fast, too close. Before I'd taken more than a few steps he'd snatched me off the ground and hoisted me into the air. _Dammit._

The Decepticon carried me through the corridors until we reached a set of double doors that opened automatically.  
>"Lord Megatron," he said just as a huge, silver bot turned around.<br>_Shit._ _Please, somebody tell me this is a nightmare._  
>"The human…" Megatron said slowly. Obviously he remembered me. Then, abruptly, he yelled "Makeshift!"<br>The spikiest robot I'd ever seen (and that was saying something seeing as Megatron was in the room) stepped forward.  
>"Yes, my Lord," he answered.<br>"You brought a human on board and _didn't restrain it!_"  
>So I was here on purpose? Well, at least I hadn't managed to sleepwalk here or something. Also, apparently the Decepticons have a ship? Now there's something my new friends had neglected to mention. I'd just assumed they had their own base like the Autobots did. Was Megatron the robot Captain Hook or something?<br>"My Lord, I left her in the containment room as you instructed."  
>"Well, evidently, you failed to LOCK THE DOOR."<br>I stared, shocked, as Megatron backhanded the other Decepticon across the room.  
>"Knock Out," he said now, and I was worried he was going to incapacitate me or something. Then I realised it might be another Decepticon's name. But nobody in the room acknowledged him. That didn't seem to stop him, though, as he carried on regardless. "Come to the bridge and collect our prisoner. Take her to your laboratory and <em>restrain her properly.<em>"  
>Okay, so apparently Pirate Captain Megatron also has telepathy.<p>

Within a few minutes, a red robot (about half Megatron's height) entered the bridge. In the meantime, the others had gone back to their duties while the poor drone had been left standing awkwardly holding me in his hand.  
>I mentally scolded myself. The Decepticons were evil and had taken me prisoner. Who knows what they planned to do to me? I shouldn't have been feeling sorry for <em>any<em> of them._  
><em>By the time I had that thought out, the red bot had crossed the room and was ready to grab me. For a minute I considered doing something to try and get free, but it was a _long_ way to the ground and I'd already seen what I could do to myself falling just a few extra inches. This 'Knock Out' held me on his palm and scrutinised me with gigantic red eyes. I sat still and stared back.  
>Then, in the most camp voice I'd ever heard, he said, "Very well, Lord Megatron, if that will be all." After that he turned on his heel and left the room, not bothering to close his hand around me. Like I said: I was miles too high off the ground with nowhere to go.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4: Headache

Chapter 4: Headache

Not long afterward I found myself in a laboratory. Knock Out had simply plonked me down on a workbench and started poking around at a computer screen that wasn't unlike Ratchet's. The thought of the big, white Autobot made my heart give a forlorn flutter. Would I ever see any of them again? Would I ever see my sister again?  
>A few blips from the computer brought me back to the present.<br>"Weren't you supposed to restrain me?" I asked my camp captor.  
>He paused in his work and stared at me, pretty close to the way he had earlier.<br>"Did you _want_ me to?"  
>"Well, no… but aren't you worried I'll try to run away?"<br>This time he actually moved away from the console and walked over to me. His head lowered to mine and I felt my stomach flip as the giant, metal creature focused those red eyes on me again. The rest of me followed suit, tensing up, waiting to see what he was going to do.  
>"No," he said suddenly. "Not really."<br>My sigh of relief was comically audible. Then my spine returned to the party and I said something I now consider fairly stupid.  
>"What, you think you can just give me a good scare and that'll stop me?"<br>Luckily, this was Knock Out I was talking to. He just laughed.  
>"No, I expect the fifteen foot drop to the floor will do that. Either that or it will ensure I don't have to chase you afterwards."<br>Great. Well, at least my captor had a sense of humour. I could laugh myself all the way to my gruesome end.

As it turned out, Knock Out kind of ignored me for the next while. I'd expected to be immediately subjected to a whole host of evil and painful experiments, but for the most part I was left to my own devices, chilling out on top of the workbench.  
>After he'd tapped out commands on his giant keyboard for what felt like forever, Knock Out finally walked away from the console. I tensed again, fearing my impending doom. He crossed the room, picked up a lethal-looking instrument, and then turned back around. I was momentarily confused until he smacked the console with it.<br>"Piece of _scrap_!" he yelled.  
>I was across the room faster than I thought possible.<br>"Don't do that!"  
>The giant, red robot holding the scientific instrument stared at me. For good reason, too. I was a little shocked at myself. I was only thrown off for a second though before I went straight back to it.<br>"You have to show computers more respect!"  
>"Ohh…" he said slowly. He wiped his free hand down his face. "Look, not <em>all<em> our technology is sentient, you know. That would be silly."  
>Now it was my turn. "I'm not upset because I think it's <em>alive<em>. You just have to treat your equipment properly or it'll never work for you!"  
>My sudden rant reminded me of Ratchet. I tried to cool off a bit.<br>Knock Out, however, seemed curious. "What do _you_ know about this kind of equipment?"  
>Stage fright and a healthy dose of suspicion washed over me. Then I realised that my skills might just be my lifeline. They were a lot more likely to keep my body in working order if the attached brainstem had important information in it.<br>"It's more technology in general. I studied to become a programmer at university. Plus I just love technology. Everything from video games and computers to fast cars."  
>"Fast cars, huh?" Knock Out asked.<br>It wasn't something I'd expected him to latch on to. Then I remembered I was talking to someone from a race of robots who all transformed into vehicles. Oh well, I decided to go along with that for now.  
>"Not just fast," I added. "They have to be pretty, too. I don't care how fast a car goes if it looks like crap."<br>"So they _do_ teach your kind important values after all," Knock Out said, seeming impressed.  
>I laughed. "Actually, on Earth I'd seem a bit shallow for saying that."<br>I don't know if I'd said the wrong thing, or if he just didn't have anything else to add, because Knock Out went back to his console again. Deciding there was no way I could take it if he started ignoring me again for ages, I trotted across the bench I was standing on and tried to find a way across to sit under the screen like I did with Ratchet.  
>While I was crouched slightly, trying to figure out if I could make it if I jumped across, Knock Out noticed me and looked down.<br>"What are you doing?"  
>"Oh, I was coming over to-" That strange, fearful feeling hit me again. My stomach flipped and I remembered these were not the robots I was used to. There might have had a bit of banter between us before, but it didn't seem like Knock Out would let me just lounge all over his workstation like Ratchet did.<br>He looked at me, waiting for me to say more.  
>"I was going to sit over there…" I said quietly.<br>He shrugged, picked me up, and plopped me under the screen.  
>"What's your name?" he asked suddenly.<br>"Heather," I told him. "And you're Knock Out, right?"  
>"That's right." There was a small pause as he seemed to consider something. Then he said, "Any of these numbers make sense to you?"<br>I looked at the screen. It was a graph of something. Unfortunately, all the symbols for numbers were in Cybertronian. So, not knowing which numbers were higher or lower than others, I couldn't make any sense of it. Other than the line on the graph itself.  
>"Well, whatever it is," I said, "it's going up."<br>"I know," Knock Out agreed. "And it shouldn't be."  
>"Why not?" I was curious now, there was a puzzle to solve.<br>"Because it's the level of a particular toxin in the crew's bodies."  
>"Oh."<br>That wasn't what I'd been expecting. Then again, this guy had a lab. It made sense he'd be looking into things like toxins and chemicals. Examining the rest of the laboratory more closely now I realised it did look sort of like a super-technological sick bay.  
>"So, is it a toxin you guys naturally have in your blood that's higher than usual, or is it one whose presence just generally means bad things?"<br>"Option 2," Knock Out answered. "I found some in a Vehicon's blood a few weeks ago. So, naturally, I began slowly testing others to see how far the toxin had spread."  
>Vehicon, huh? I was going to take a massive leap of faith and assume that was a Decepticon who turned into a vehicle. Could be wrong.<br>"So what did you find?" I asked.  
>"Everyone has it."<br>"Even you?"  
>"Even me. And now a second round of tests shows it's getting worse."<br>I thought about it some more. I knew the Decepticons were evil. I knew that one order from their terrifying leader would be enough for Knock Out to squish me flat without a second thought. But something in my stupid, twingey stomach was telling me there was something else I knew. I knew there was something about him that made me like him, it would make me sad to see him die.  
>"To get it into your body do you just have to be exposed to the toxin? Or do you actually have to ingest it?"<br>I was getting out of my depth here. Esther was the trained medical professional, not me. Still, I picked up bits of information and protocol from her here and there. Hopefully plain logic would be enough to help me figure this one out and, maybe, prove my worth to the Decepticons so they wouldn't do horrible experiments on me or kill me.  
>"It's possible that the toxin could get into one's energon stream through long-term exposure, but that would take years. This has occurred over a matter of weeks."<br>"So basically you guys have to essentially be eating it somehow. And in big amounts."  
>"Exactly." What counted for Knock Out's eyebrows narrowed.<p>

I must have spent hours with Knock Out working on solutions to the problem. He explained what bits of the science I needed to know to draw conclusions and then we worked on theories regarding both how they'd all been exposed to the stuff, how long it had been happening, and what exactly they had been exposed to in order to ingest this particular toxin. Somewhere between ruling out the Autobots being responsible and what would have been us finally figuring out how much of their energon supply was contaminated, I fell asleep.  
>The loudest noise on the planet woke me up. It was like being asleep next to a bomb going off. I flew backwards across the room and skidded along the bench. I came to my senses to see Knock Out's computer crushed and sparking madly. I turned my head to the right slightly to look at the floor and saw Knock Out himself on his back in a crab-like position.<br>"CAN NOBODY ON THIS SHIP FOLLOW A SIMPLE INSTRUCTION?" a familiar voice roared.  
>Looking around further I mimicked Knock Out's position, scuttling backwards as far as I could. Megatron was in the room, arm-blade out and looking ready to kill at least one of us. I swallowed – or tried to, anyway.<br>"A momentary distraction, my Liege, I planned to return her to captivity once I had retrieved all possible information from her."  
><em>Yeah, right.<em> I wasn't even offended. I knew it was a load of bullshit. I soon realised my mistake in making light of the situation, though, when my mental scoff turned into an audible snort; drawing Megatron's attention from Knock Out to me.  
>"Your prisoner doesn't seem to agree, Knock Out…"<br>I sent a nervous, apologetic smile in the scientist's direction before scrambling to my feet. My back and legs ached from their impact with the metal surface, but I shakily maintained an upright position. I had to be ready to dodge Megatron's next outburst. I was pretty sure I wouldn't survive another one.  
>"Pay attention, Knock Out," Megatron snarled. "<em>This<em> is how you get information out of a prisoner."  
>He began striding towards my bench just as I screamed, "Verysmallandsquishy!"<br>He paused. "What?"  
>"I'm very small, and very squishy. You can't beat the information out of me, I'll die."<br>I'd kind of thought I had him there, but his grin was pure wickedness.  
>"Oh, I doubt that will be necessary."<p>

Don't ask me how Knock Out managed to a) find straps small enough to tie me down and b) actually get me into them. I was too busy trying not to wet myself while in Megatron's grasp. I stayed perfectly still the whole time. My body was frozen solid and my mind was on a constant loop of _It's a bad dream, it's a bad dream, it's a bad dream…_ During this time I _did_ register Megatron's fingers flexing a few times, almost crushing me. I was sure he was doing it on purpose.  
>I was finally released from my fear-coma when Megatron's fingertips released my limbs, which he'd apparently had pinned against a metal slab for a while now. I sagged slightly in relief from my new position - strapped to the metal beside a new console which had been hastily wheeled into the lab sometime earlier.<br>Then Megatron drew back. Suddenly the giant, scary robot who had been holding me prisoner between his fingers was now looking down at me with a menacing expression while I was strapped in place unable to move.  
>I changed my opinion on whether to be relaxed or not.<br>It didn't get any better when Knock Out revealed the world's most ridiculous looking adaptor cable. It started out at one end looking like those suction cups they stick on people's heads to monitor their brain waves. Then the cable grew in thickness until it was the size of one of those large, concrete pipes that are just mysteriously on every building site in every movie ever. Finally, it ended in a gigantic version of the cup at my end – although at that scale it looked more like an evil vacuum cleaner nozzle.  
>The next part of the process surprised me. Megatron took several quick strides to my left and positioned himself on another berth similar to mine. What the hell was going on here?<br>"Lord Megatron, I have yet to test this new equipment on an actual human subject. It is entirely possible that you might crush her mind in the process."  
>"Then we'll just have to find another one until you get it right," Megatron said before his eyes closed. "Now get on with it!"<br>I had only a moment to register these words - and become even more terrified - before the suction cup was attached to my head and a bolt of energy surging into me knocked me out cold.

I found myself wandering through a thick, almost debilitating fog. Every step took tremendous effort and it felt as though the air itself was holding me back. I was so tempted just to give in and lie down. I knew if I did that I could sleep for as long as I wanted. Forever, even… But then there was that nagging fear at the back of my mind, the knowledge that I couldn't go to sleep, that I needed to push through. I needed to find my way out of this fog somehow.  
>I blundered around through the mist, getting nowhere. I was almost about to lose hope, to give in, when a neon purple shone through the darkness. It glinted off the fog at every angle, making it hard to see where it was coming from. I focused hard, willing myself to find the answer, to find a way out. Eventually, after a few more minutes the light seemed to condense a little up ahead. Slightly more confident I knew what I was doing, I took a few laboured steps towards the light.<br>A tough and gravelly, yet almost kind-sounding voice spoke to me from a distance, coaxing me through the darkness.  
>"That's it, fleshling, this way…"<br>_Fleshling?_ The word struck a chord in my heart that I recognised. The owner of this voice was someone I was afraid of, someone I shouldn't trust. For just a moment I felt like I was starting to remember; for a second I thought I knew why I was there, what I was doing.  
>"Hurry!" the voice said, with more urgency now.<br>Shoving my doubts aside I ran through the fog with all the strength I could muster. As I approached the purple light it gathered around me, condensing in time with the fog until I felt smothered in them both. Then, finally, I broke free and plunged into another place entirely.

I landed, surprisingly, flat on my feet and completely uninjured. Well, now I knew this had to be a dream. I was always getting injured. Just like… like when I'd hit the workbench… in Knock Out's lab… That hadn't been very long ago, but I didn't feel my injuries any more. I didn't feel any pain at all. How had I gotten here from there? Better yet, where _was_ here?  
>Black spots swarmed in front of my vision, followed by glittering sparkles. It looked like I was going to pass out. My throat began to constrict as well, my whole body felt like it was shutting down. Was I dying?<br>_No…_ I thought. _I will not die._  
>"No!" <em>Knock Out?<em> For just a moment, I was so sure I heard his voice, urging me on from far, far away.  
>"There you are, human!" a voice growled at me. This one was definitely not Knock Out. "You will give me the answers I seek or I will crush your mind."<br>I looked around, still trying to fight through the blackness and the glitter and losing. I caught a wavering image of Megatron's face lowering to mine, his sharp teeth looking like they were going to devour me. Then that darkness closed in around me and I lost consciousness.  
>As I did so, I felt metal fingers close around me, catching me as I plummeted towards God knows where.<p>

Several weeks of recovery followed. I lay on Knock Out's table, cold and uncomfortable, as I repeatedly faded in and out of consciousness. Whenever I woke up for long enough Knock Out would yell at me until I grudgingly accepted the food and drink he offered, then I would fall back into a dreamless sleep.  
>After the first week I was able to stay consciousness for a full day at a time, but Knock Out still refused to let Megatron near me. I was suspiciously grateful. I wasn't sure if I could really trust him, after he'd proved just what he would allow his boss to do to me, but I was also happy for the reprieve.<br>The first time I'd stayed awake long enough I had realised what had been done to me, what that strange dreamscape was, and I was in no hurry to experience it again. I knew, however, that until the Autobots rescued me or the Decepticons killed me, I'd keep being sent back there while Megatron stole my secrets.

Towards the end of week three, Megatron stormed into the room. Knock Out had been trying to force feed me a biscuit at the time and he hastily shoved it behind his back.  
>"She's had more than long enough," Megatron bellowed over Knock Out's protests.<br>Oh well, the rest period couldn't have lasted indefinitely. I didn't even bother putting up a fight. In fact, I was so desperate to stay away from those cold, cruel fingers that I walked over to my little stand all by myself and strapped myself in.  
>I looked at Knock Out with determination chiselled onto my face. <em>Do it<em>, I willed him. _Do it before I lose my nerve._  
>I didn't know where this sudden 'hero's stupidity' – as it is often called – had come from, but it was fading just as fast as it had arrived. No matter, Knock Out pressed the cable to my forehead and I plunged back into darkness.<p> 


End file.
